A Dragon's Life: It Lives In The Woods
by Chris Rudy
Summary: William Kelley, son of Abraham Kelley, has his life turned upside down as he struggles to master strange new powers he has while also fighting for his very life. Will he succeed in both? Find out in this story.
1. Chapter 1: An Old Horror Returns

**A Dragon's Life: It Lives In The Woods**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spyro or Choices or any of the characters in them.**

**Here's a bit about this series. It'll feature three story series from within Choices. Those three series are It Lives, The Freshman, and Hero. This series follow my OC, William Kelley, the biological son of Abraham Kelley from It Lives Beneath. Will's mother had died after he was born, which devastated Abe. After a week with the baby, Abe gave him to a couple in Westchester for adoption. This couple are the parents of the MC of It Lives In The Woods, who was the same age as Will when the couple took him in.**

**Author's Note: This story, as well as the rest in the series, will be told from the point of view of either Will or the 3rd person**

* * *

-Will-

I wake up to my phone buzzing.

"Mmmm... What...?" I ask myself then feel around the bed for my phone. When I find it, I see a text from someone I hadn't heard from in years.

_"Will? It's Dan."_ The text reads.

_"Dan? Long time."_ I send back.

_"Yeah. Listen, I'm in the woods. I have to know."_

_"Know what?"_

_"If HE is real."_

_"He's not, man. He never was. We've got school in a few hours, so I'm going back to sleep."_

With that, I set my phone down then close my eyes. A few minutes later, I hear a scream from the room across mine and sigh so I walk to the bedroom of my sister.

"Selena, I swear if you tell me a raccoon is in there..." I say as I open the door then see Dan by the window. "What the hell?"

"Can I come in, guys?" He asks.

Selena and I look at each other before before she opens her window and Dan climbs in.

"You've got some explaining to do though." She says. "First off, how'd you get to my window?"

"Yeah, pretty sure this is the second floor." I say.

"I climbed." He says.

"...Okay, Spiderman." I say with confused sarcasm.

"You sounded freaked in those texts." Selena says.

I look at her. "You too, sis?" I ask.

"'Too'?" She asks.

"It's nothing. Let's go get the others." Dan says.

"What others, man?" I ask.

"Lucas, Ava, Andy, Stacy, Lily, and Noah." He replies with a smile. "I wanna show you guys something." He adds.

"Dude, we haven't talked to them in years." Selena says.

"Yeah. I mean, after Jane-" I start.

"But that's the rule." Dan says. "Everyone has to be there."

"You're kinda freaking us out, Dan." Selena says as her phone buzzes.

"Like I said, we have our first day of school in a few hours." I say as she and I look at her phone. She gets two more texts from Dan. I look up from her phone, claws slowly extending from my fingers in my left hand.

"We have to go back there, guys." 'Dan' says then the lights flicker once then they go off and Selena looks up from her phone.

"...Dan?" She says, but he grins and it stretches pretty far.

"Will. Selena." He says then grabs her wrist. I try to pull him off of her, but I get thrown off him and hit my head hard on a wall and black out.

* * *

When I come to in the morning, I see Selena out cold and rush to her and shake her gently. "Wake up, sis." I say and she jumps awake. She rubs her neck then winces and I frown when I see bruises on her neck.

"The hell?" She asks.

"Let's just get today over with." I say then go to my room to get dressed. I put on a white T then a red long sleeved shirt then I put on a gold necklace, jeans and boots.

I soon see Selena wearing a light grey top that shows her bellybutton under a gold leather jacket, two necklaces over her top, black jeans and boots.

"Quick breakfast, sis?" I offer.

She nods with a smile. "Scrambled eggs and toast?" She asks.

I nod then we head downstairs to the kitchen and I fix breakfast for us.

* * *

When we finish eating, we cautiously peek out to the woods near our house then slowly step out.

"Dan couldn't have seen...him. That was make-believe." Selena says. "...Right, bro?"

"Honestly...I have no clue." I say.

"Hey, neighbors!" Our neighbor, Cid, says as we walk down the steps.

"Hey, Cid." Selena says.

"What's up?" I ask.

"Just finishing our walk. Look who's here, Hilda!" He says then a dog with black and white fur and an orange bandana around her neck comes bounding to my sister and I. I pet Hilda's head while Selena rubs Hilda's stomach. She howls happily.

"Aw, it's nice to see you too, cutie." Selena says.

"I haven't seen your folks around this morning." Cid says.

"They're overseas handling Selena's great-aunt's estate or something. They'll be back in a couple weeks." I say.

"Quite a long time for two kids to be by themselves in a house that big. Especially after...three years ago." Cid says, causing me and my sister to tense up a bit.

When I was fifteen, Selena and I saw a small meteor crash in the yard one afternoon. Inside was a strange purple gem shaped like a rhombus. It attached itself to my chest and burned a bit. That evening after dinner, Selena, her parents, Cid, and I discovered the gem gave me various powers and turned me a purple dragon with orange wing membranes, crest and pointed tail tip, a yellow underbelly and matching color for my wings' bone structure.

I push that memory down and look at Cid.

"We just turned eighteen." I say. "We can do our own laundry."

"I've gotten good at mac and cheese too. I've only set off the smoke alarm...three times this week." Selena says.

"And I make a mean spaghetti." I say.

"They grow up so fast." He says with a smile. He then walks to a small pile of loose dirt and pulls something out. "Wonder what this is." He says then shows us a glossy black stone with a strange rune on it. "This either one of yours?" He asks and Selena and I look at it. I notice it's got a crack in it.

"Wonder where this came from." Selena says.

"I wonder how it broke." I say.

"Looks like a paperweight or something." Cid says.

I take one whiff of it and gulp, smelling the scent of dirt and blood mixed on the stone.

"Smells kinda..." Selena starts.

"Weird." I finish for her.

Cid nods, dusting his hands.

"Well, I'll let you guys get to school. Let me know if either of you need anything. Door's always open." Cid says.

"Will do, Cid. Thanks." Selena and I say at the same time then the two of them head to their house while I look at Clara.

"If what we saw last night was real, this could be a clue." Selena says. "Where should we store it?"

I glance at the shed. "Why not there?" I say and she looks at the shed.

"That works." She says then we head over to the shed and I push it open, the rusty hinges making noises.

"When's the last time someone was in here?" She asks.

"Hell if I know." I say as she sets the stone on the table. "We could probably fit all kinds of things in here."

"Probably." She says then turns off the light and we leave for school, shutting the door once outside.

* * *

We then leave to head to the school. A vintage black Camaro soon comes up beside us and Selena and I take a look at the driver to see it's a guy with blonde hair to the his shoulders and gray eyes. From what could be seen, he had on a leather jacket over a blue shirt.

Something about him seems...familiar...

He pulls up to us and then stops. "Hey, do we know each other?" He asks.

"I think we do." Selena says.

"You go to Westchester High?" I ask.

"Not anymore, thankfully. Left there a couple years ago." The driver says.

"You're lucky, dude." I say

"You guys will be out of there before long." He says. "I gotta get to work. Catch you guys later." He adds then drives off before we get his name. We then keep going towards the school.

* * *

We see a thin crowd of students when we arrive. We head to our lockers, which are beside each other, when we see an old friend at the locker on Selena's right.

"Hey, Ava." Selena says.

"Sup." Ava says.

"Nothing." Selena answers.

"Was that always your locker?" I ask. "Never seen you use it before."

"Reassigned." Ava explains then shrugs her bag onto her shoulder after shutting her locker. "Oh, it's Lily."

Selena and I see another old friend nervously clutching a textbook.

"...Hi guys." Lily says

"Hey." I say.

"Hi." Selena says.

"How was your summer?" I ask.

"Good. Got home from a coding camp in Portland." She replies. "I got invited by one of the girls to collaborate on a game she's working on!" She adds with a smile.

"Awesome!" Selena says, smiling.

"Let us know if you need a couple playtesters." I say with a smile on my face then lean on my locker, groaning.

"Will?" Lily says as I get pulled into a vision that shows something bad happening during the pep rally that starts in a few minutes then the vision fades.

"You okay, bro?" Selena asks.

I nod. "Yeah. I'm alright." I say. _"These damn visions are gonna be the death of me."_ I think to myself and Selena.

_"You're a lot tougher than you think."_ She thinks back to me.

Lily soon lowers her voice after glancing around. "I wanted to talk to you two about something."

"What's up?" Selena and I ask.

"I got some weird texts last night. Did you both...?" She starts then I see her glancing at Britney, a cheerleader and not to mention the school's most hateful girl.

At her side are her two friends, Jocelyn and Cody. If I could describe both of them in a few words, I'd say Jocelyn definitely doesn't use her head for...well, anything really. As for Cody...well, one thing I'd like to do is beat his freakin' face in.

"Wow. The guy I've been ghosting for two weeks just asked me out for coffee again." Britney says.

"Just when you thought high school might be the terrible chest pain you remember..." Ava groans.

"Tell me about it." I say

"Yeesh. Desperate much?" Cody says to Britney while laughing.

"Maybe he's scared of clowns and not ghosts." Jocelyn said.

Like I said, Jocelyn's a serious airhead. I'm actually amazed Jocelyn even made it this far in school.

"...Joss, do you even know what...?" Britney starts and I see Lily walking to her.

"Hi, Britney!" Lily says. Britney stops talking and looks at Lily appraisingly.

"_Great_ sweater, Lily. How come nobody told me Baby Barn had a quadruple XL section?" Britney says.

"I...just wanted to say hi." Lily says sadly.

"And I want a red Ferrari for a birthday present, but I'll settle for not hearing you talk with that whiny voice again."

"A Ferrari would be a good fit for you, Britney." I say as I stand next to Lily, getting Britney, Jocelyn, and Cody to look at me.

"...Really?" Britney asks.

"Yeah." I say with a fake smile then it quickly melts away. "Because your mouth runs about as fast as a Ferrari goes down the highway."

"Ouch!" Ava laughs. "That's gotta really sting." She adds as she and I fist bump.

Of all three of them, Cody looked the angriest at my burn.

"And basing your fashion sense on what the wannabe models wear on Pictagram is way cooler." Selena says sarcastically, backing me up.

"No one asked you, Selena." Britney scowls.

"Didn't hear anyone ask for your opinion either." I tell her. "So take your unsolicited advice on fashion to someone who'd actually give a damn."

"Do not piss me off, Will." Britney says.

I scoff. "Like I'm scared of a prissy little girl in a skirt carrying pompoms." I say.

"Well..." Jocelyn starts.

"Witty comebacks are not something you're good at, Track and Field Barbie." Ava says.

"It's _Cross Country_." Jocelyn says.

"I said the wrong thing just to piss you off. Keep up if you can."

"Go find some other hallway to haunt, freak." Cody says.

Ava looks at Cody then picks up a stray hair from his shoulder before talking about a new curse she found and wanted to try out. She mentioned a burning sensation in his eyeballs and I see Cody looks shocked as Ava walks off.

"What's gonna happen to your eyeballs, Cody?!" Jocelyn asks, sounding freaked.

"Chill, Joss. That weirdo reads too many horror novels. With her luck, she'll flunk and end up living alone like Pritch the Witch." Britney says.

"Maybe we should call her...Ava the Witch!" Jocelyn says then cackles like a hyena.

"...Good one, Joss." Cody says.

"I'm officially done with..." I start then gesture to all three of them. "...whatever this is." I finish then turn around, only to feel a rough hand on my shoulder.

"You're done...when I say you're done." Cody says as he turns me to face him.

I look at him blankly. "Ever been in a coma, asswipe?" I ask.

"No." He says.

"Well, you've got to the count of three before that changes unless you let go of me."

"You can't hurt me."

One of my boots connects to his man parts and he lets go of me. "You might wanna rethink that." I say with a small smirk as he makes his way back to Britney and Jocelyn.

"O.M.G. That a hickey?!" Jocelyn asks them pokes the bruise around Selena's neck.

"Get off me!" She says as she pushes Jocelyn back.

"Yeah, ever heard of boundaries, Wu?" I snarl.

"Like anyone would chew on this social reject." Cody grins.

"How I got it is none of your business." Selena says.

"You on your period or something?"

"You just have that effect on people." I tell him.

"You'd best shut up." Cody scowls.

"I ain't scared of Britney or Jocelyn and I sure as hell ain't scared of you."

"How about we change that?"

I pop my neck joints. "Only if you wanna wake up with serious cuts and bruises." I say, only for Selena to put a hand on my shoulder. "Please let me hurt him, sis."

"No. Despite how much he deserves it, I won't let you do it." She says then leans to my ear. "Don't do something that'll expose you..." She whispers.

I sigh then spit in Cody's eye. "Now scram, otherwise, I'm yanking the leash out of her hands."

"Whatever. I need to get ready for the pep rally." Britney says then walks off, Jocelyn dragging Cody with her as they follow, but not before she shoulder-checks Selena hard.

"See you around, Selena." Jocelyn says.

I retaliate by discreetly giving her a slightly powerful shock.

She shrieks a bit and I pick up my bag.

"Off to a _great_ start, this school year." I grumble.

"Should we report them?" Lily asks.

"Yeah. Maybe this time, they'll actually get in trouble." Selena says sarcastically as we walk to the gym.

* * *

We hear the music from the speakers and I see Selena is panicked and her mind flashes back to last night.

"Sis?" I say.

"You okay?" Lily asks.

Selena nods. "Just a bit crowded in here." She says. "You guys see anywhere to sit?"

Lily notices a couple spots, but they're next to Ava, who drawing in her sketchbook. A couple freshman move to sit next to her, but she hisses at them and the scramble to get away. When she notices we're looking at her, she smiles and nods at the empty seats.

"Is she...?" Selena starts.

"I think she is, sis." I say.

_"Maybe Ava could help us know a bit more about...whatever that thing was last night."_ I hear in her head.

_"Wouldn't hurt for me to talk to her about my own little...predicament."_ I think to her.

"You guys go ahead... She kinda scares me a bit..." Lily says.

"You sure?" I ask.

Lily nods. "I see a seat by Mr. Cooper." She says. "Oh. Thanks for earlier, by the way, you guys."

"No problem." I say.

Selena nods with a smile. "Later, Lily."

* * *

We head to the top and look at Ava.

"One of these seats taken?" I ask.

"Next to me is my ghost friend, but it doesn't count because he's incorporeal." Ava says.

Selena and I laugh until we see that Ava isn't.

"Sorry." Selena says.

"Yeah. We can't tell if you're messing with us." I say.

"Part of my mystique." Ava says.

Selena sits next to Ava and I sit next to Selena.

"Bold, Selena. Sitting in someone's lap before you've even been introduced." Ava says with a smirk.

"Maybe we can get coffee later." Selena says with a smile about her and the ghost.

Things get quiet after that.

"You having fun dismembering the bench or are you gonna tell me why you're so freaked out?" Ava asks Selena.

"Yeah. It's just...kind of weird." My sister says.

"Weird is my middle name."

"Really?" I ask.

"No, it's really Dolores. Tell anyone that and you guys will find eyeballs instead of food."

"Noted." Selena and I say. Selena then tells Ava about the thing that attacked us last night and how it first looked like Dan before it changed.

"Sounds like a golem to me." Ava says.

"Like the humanoid creatures made of living clay?" I ask.

"Sounds like it."

"It knocked me out and when Selena and I woke up, it was gone." I say.

"Why attack then run?" Selena asks.

"My knowledge of golems isn't as deep as it should be, but maybe whatever it was that animated the golem was temporary. Either that or it possibly was a dream." Ava says.

"Sadly my back tells me otherwise." I say.

"Same with the bruises on my neck." Selena adds.

"Actually, there are beings who can enter or even affect your dreams. One of them could've used your dreams to hurt you two." Ava informs us. "You guys could be under a curse, too. I've read a lot about cursed dreams."

"What, for fun?"

"If you wanna think that."

"You're a little weird." I tell Ava.

"You wound me, Will." She jokes.

"Okay, then you're the weirdest person I know." I joke back.

"Thanks for hearing us out, Ava. We didn't think anyone would believe us." Selena says.

"Well, jury's still out on that." Ava says. "You guys could be making all this up to try and screw with me."

"Do people do that often?" I ask.

"They try, but they fail because of my strong kung fu."

"Then thanks for listening to us without immediately dismissing us." Selena says.

"Cool." Ava says. "Well, I think I'm done."

"...Done with...?"

"Being nice. I've got this whole bitter misanthrope thing happening. By seeing this people, may think it's okay to talk to me."

"Can't have that, can we?"

"I'd literally die."

Selena heads off, but I stay where I am.

"You and your sister aren't as big a pair of tools as most people." Ava tells me with a grin.

"That means a lot coming from you." I say with a grin.

She nods then things get quiet again for a few minutes.

"Actually, Ava, there's something else I wanted to talk to you about. I'll make it quick." I say.

"Sup." She says.

"...How's your knowledge on...dragons?" I ask.

"Mmmm...I'd say 50/50. Why?"

"Have you ever read anything about dragons being able to change back and forth between their scales and human flesh?" I ask.

"...If the human is in possession of a something like a dragon scale or a strange gem, yeah." She tells me.

I fight the urge to gulp as my mind sends me back to the night I found my gem.

Before I can say anything more, the lights start to flicker. "Crap..." I whisper.

The lights go out and Lucas tells everyone to stay seated before static cuts him off the music soon fades out. The gym doors are flung open by a cold wind gust as the lights come back on.

Thanks to my heightened sense of sound, I hear what sounds like whispering before the music dies and the lights shut off completely, leaving the voice.

**_"Everyone... plays... together..."_** It says.

* * *

**That's chapter one. I hope you guys like this story. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting and a Plan

-Will-

I sit in my zoology class, my last class of the day, when I get a message alert. Since I'm in one of the back corners of the classroom, I discreetly pull out my phone and see a group chat with Selena, Stacy, Ava, Lily, Andy, and Noah.

_"We need to talk."_ Selena sends.

_"I'm here, sis."_ I send.

_"Hey, guys."_ Lily sends.

_"Yo."_ Ava sends.

_"Sup."_ Noah sends.

_"How'd you get my new number?"_ Stacy asks.

_"Facespace."_ Selena replies.

_"Creeper much?"_ Stacy sends.

_"What'd you wanna talk about, Selena?"_ Andy asks.

_"The pep rally."_ Selena replies.

_"And don't act like y'all don't know what she means."_ I add.

_"When and where?"_ Noah asks.

_"The fountain. After school."_ Selena replies.

_"Can't. Practice till 6."_ Stacy sends.

_"Same. After okay?"_ Andy asks.

_"This is serious, guys."_ I send.

_"Can't just ditch. Game coming up."_ Andy responds.

_"Fine. 6 it is."_ Selena sends.

_"K. Hey, I don't think you added Lucas to this text."_ Noah says.

_"I'll add him in a sec."_ I send then do just that, before hearing my sister clear on the other side of the hall.

Heightened hearing? Sometimes it has its cons. At lunch, I listen to my music to drown out the noises from everyone and everything.

"Mr. Kelley?" My teacher says and I look at her.

"Sorry, Miss Stanford." I say then pay attention till the end of class. I wince at the sound of the bell then gather my things and go to meet up with my sister.

"Hey, thanks for nearly making me deaf in class." I say sarcastically to her.

"Sorry." She says.

"It's alright, sis." I say. "I'll see you back home. I gotta make a pit stop at the library and return the books I checked out a couple weeks ago."

She nods then I head out.

"Will, wait up." Lily says and I see her walking to me. "Where you headed?"

"Library. Got a couple books to return." I say.

"Want some company?" She asks.

"Sure." I say then she and I start heading to the library in downtown.

"I noticed you talking to Ava at the pep rally." She says.

"Yeah. I was talking to her about something that's personal to me." I say.

Lily nods. "...What's that?" I soon hear her ask.

I look at her. "What?" I ask.

"That glow under your shirt." She says.

"Oh." I say then pull out a necklace I made. The gem that made me the way I am was attached to it.

"Oh, wow." She says.

I take it off and hand it to her so she can get a better look at it.

"Where'd you get this necklace?" She asks.

"Made it myself." I say.

"What about the jewel?"

"I found it like that, actually."

"Like, in this shape?"

I nod then hear footsteps coming up to us from behind. Suddenly, a hand snatches my necklace from Lily.

"Thanks!" She and I hear Jocelyn say.

"If you know what's good for you, give that back to me, Wu." I say, turning to face her.

"Nah, I don't think so."

I just cross my arms.

"W-Will, maybe she should just keep it." Lily says.

"Someone's got some common sense in her." Jocelyn says with a fake smile, but I'm not too worried. She holds the gem up to the light. "I think this would look great on me. It goes perfectly with both my eyes and my- Ouch!" She says then drops the necklace, but I catch it.

"Gee, I wonder what happened." I say sarcastically.

"That stupid thing got hot!" She says.

"Must've been how you were holding it in the sunlight." I say then put the necklace back on.

She huffs and just stomps off back the way she came. I smirk a bit.

Lily and I then head to the library. I return the books I had checked out then hang out with Lily for a few minutes.

"I think I'm gonna head home. Wanna keep me company till we get there?" I ask.

"That's okay. I wanted to check out a couple books here." She says.

I nod. "Okay. See you at 6." I say.

She nods. "See you then." She says.

When I leave the library, I see Selena and Lucas leave the coffee shop across the street and walk to them. "Hey, guys." I say.

"Hey, bro." Selena says with a smile as she and I hug.

"Hey, man." Lucas says then he and I have a hug. "You coming to this meeting Selena mentioned?"

I nod.

"See you then." He says.

"Later." I say then Selena and I head to our house.

Along the way, I tell Selena what happened with Jocelyn.

"Your gem heated up when Jocelyn held it?" She asks.

I nod. "I told her it must've been from the sunlight, but I think it was the gem itself."

"...Wow." She says.

I nod. "So, what are we doing when we get home?" I ask.

"Help you learn to control your powers." She says.

I stop and look at her. "Selena, the best thing I can do is extend and retract my claws." I say.

"You'll get better with your powers. Like I told you, you're tougher than you think."

She then puts a hand on my shoulder. "All eighteen years I've known you, you've oozed confidence. Have some now, Will."

I look at my feet. Part of me believes what she's telling me, but another part is scared to go through with this.

"...Okay." I say and she smiles then we head home.

I stare at nine empty bottles that Selena had set up.

"We'll start easy. Try launching a fireball at the bottle in the middle and just that one." She says.

"Everything okay over here?" Cid asks as we see him and Hilda walking to us.

"Just helping my brother get a handle on what he can do." Selena says.

I look back at the bottles, take a deep breath and shoot a ball of fire from my mouth, only to miss the bottle a bit long. I sigh.

"You can do it, kid." Cid says.

I take another deep breath and try again and manage to hit it. I'm surprised at first but then I smile a bit.

"Nice job, bro." Selena says.

"Yeah." Cid says. "Well, Hildy and I will let you two go about practicing." He adds then he and Hilda walked off.

Selena and I set to practicing with my powers of fire, electricity, ice, earth, time, and a strange power that I like to call my energy beam.

Close to 6, we head to the school. When 6:00 hits, we head outside and see Noah, Lily, and Lucas at the fountain. Andy soon shows up with Stacy tailing him while texting.

"One sec." Stacy says.

"How's it already dark?" Andy asks.

Noah stands from the fountain and Lily stands next to Selena, twisting her hands nervously.

"We're missing one." I say.

"Um...Ava." Lily says.

"You guys look like a Christian album cover." Ava says from behind Selena, making Lily jump.

"Jeez, are you a ninja?" Andy asks.

"Vampire." Ava replies.

"But we've all seen you in the sunlight." I say.

"I'm the daywalker." She says.

Selena clears her throat. "We all know why we're here. The pep rally's blackout..." She starts.

"...added with the wind and that voice." I add.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Stacy says.

"I saw everyone's faces, my own brother's included." Selena says. "All of you were as freaked as I was because you all heard what I heard."

"Everyone plays together." Noah says.

"That's not a coincidence and was definitely aimed at us. Nobody else knows what that means." I say.

Everyone chooses not to look at each other until Lily speaks up and shows us her phone to reveal texts.

"...Are these from Dan?" Selena asks.

"You got them too?" Lucas asks.

"You and Lily ain't the only ones. Selena and I got them too." I say.

"Did Dan send all of us weird-ass texts last night?" Ava asks.

I see Selena rub her neck bruises and her eyes meet mine and I nod.

"Guys... Will and I have something to say." She says then we both explain what happened last night without leaving out a detail.

"When we came to this morning, that thing was gone." I say.

"I'll admit it's crazy...but I think Mr. Red _is_ back." Selena says.

"We need the cops. They'll find who attacked you two and-" Andy starts.

"You know we can't do that, man." I say to him. "They won't believe us."

"You guys don't know that." Andy says.

"Would your dad believe you if you told him we're being targeted by a nightmare monster, Ava?" Selena asks.

Ava scoffs. "Hell no. He'd have have me piss in a cup then do a drug search in my room." She says.

"Besides, it's not like the cops can arrest Redfield." Noah says.

"I get it." Andy says.

"Unless they get that dirt monster to testify." Noah jokes.

"I said I get it!" Andy snaps.

"Leave her alone, Noah." Lucas says.

_"Him."_ Andy corrects.

"Sorry."

Andy just shrugs.

"Speaking of cop stuff, Dan's parents reported him missing this morning." Ava says.

"They what?!" Selena and I say in unison.

"And you're just _now_ mentioning this to us?" Noah asks angrily.

"I figured you guys had heard!" Ava says angrily.

"Not everybody is the child of the sheriff!" Stacy snaps.

I step away from them a bit to calm down.

"Will?" I hear Andy say and can feel the others' eyes on me.

"I'm fine." I assure them as I calm down then walk back to them. "Back to the matter at hand, Dan's in trouble and we have to go find him."

"Will, he needs professional adult help." Stacy says.

"It has to be us." Selena says.

"Why, pray tell, is that?" Lucas asks.

"Because this is our fault." I say.

"How?" Stacy asks.

"We messed with something we shouldn't have as kids." Selena says.

"And now, it's come back to bite us in the ass." Ava says.

"Look, nobody wants to dredge this shit back up. Me, least of all." I say. "Especially since I have my own problems to deal with..." I mumble.

"What?" Lily asks.

I shake my head. "Nothing." I say. "Anyway, we all remember Redfield and saw what that son of a bitch did to Jane. We can't let Dan be the next victim." I add.

"Nobody did anything to Jane, Will." Stacy says. "It was an accident."

"That's bullshit and you know it, Stacy!" Noah snaps.

"We were dumb kids playing in the woods by ourselves when we shouldn't have and that's all I know." Stacy says.

"Let's all calm down and consider the facts." Lucas says. "The blackout could've been the result of faulty wiring." He says then looks to me. "On the subject of Dan...what do you propose we do?"

I sigh. "Must I spell everything out?" I ask, getting frustrated. "We find Dan, find out what he did, then undo it. Which means we have to go back-" I say.

"...into the woods..." Lily says then panics and shakes her head as she backs up. "No way! I am not going near those woods again!"

Noah moves to Lily, his hands up calmly. "Lily...I understand you're scared, but if we have any hope of stopping this, we have to-" He starts until Andy firmly presses a hand on Noah's chest.

"Back off, Noah! She doesn't have to go anywhere or do anything she doesn't want to!" He says.

I clench my fists and try taking deep breaths as Selena steps over to me.

"Are you kidding me?!" Noah asks.

A heavy door opens and we all tense up until we see three cheerleaders round the corner of the gym until the walk into the school then we all let out relieved breaths.

"No offense to you wanting to go chase boogiemen in the woods, Noah, but some of us have real problems to deal with." Stacy says.

"Oh, really?" I ask her and she turns to me. "And what does the great Stacy Greene consider to be a 'real' problem?" I ask, using air quotes on the word real.

"Getting kidnapped by a shadow monster is a real problem!" Noah says.

"Let's all calm down." Selena says.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Noah snaps at her and I turn to glare at him.

"DO NOT take that tone with my sister!" I snap back at him.

"Dan is missing and you seem to be the only one who gives a shit, Will!" Noah says to me.

"We're all worried about him." Lucas says. "But the police should handle it if they've already been called."

"Like how they handled it when my sister died?"

"Noah-" Stacy starts sadly.

"No! I've had enough! Redfield killed Jane in front of all of us and you all shrugged it off like it didn't happen!"

"Nobody 'shrugged off' anything, Noah!" I snap, my breathing starting to pick up.

"The hell you all didn't!" He says then looks at Lucas. "Class president..." He starts then turns to Stacy. "...cheerleader..." He adds then looks at Andy. "...basketball jock... You all seem to be doing just fine! Once Jane was in the ground, you all happily moved on with your lives! And now you're doing it again with Dan!"

"Oh, now you care about Dan?! Where have any of you been the past year?! Where were you guys when Dan got wasted at winter formal?! Where were you guys when he had breakdowns after every football game?! Where were any of you?!" Stacy shouts angrily.

"Dan's had that much trouble? Why didn't he say something?" Andy asks.

"Apparently, being a big football star means you're not allowed to have feelings." Stacy says.

"He still could've told us...or me..."

"Too little, too late!"

"SHUT UP!" I shout and all eyes turn to me as I grip the fountain before feeling pain start to build.

* * *

-3rd person-

Will's eyes turned into purple cat eyes as he groaned.

"Will, fight it!" Selena said.

"I can't!" He replied as his hands went to his head.

"Will, what the hell is-" Andy started before Will's body was engulfed by purple flames, causing everyone to jump back a bit. They all watched in fear as Will's skin started to crack while two sets of wings and a tail burst out of his body. Will then screamed in pain as his skin began to break away and claws extended from his fingernails and toenails until he looked like a large purple dragon. He turned to his childhood friends then lifted his head and let out a loud roar.

"Will!" Selena said, getting her brother's attention. "Come back to me, bro."

Will lowered his head to her and snarled.

"Will, it's me. Selena. Remember when we were five and you always came over to my room whenever you couldn't sleep? You'd always lay with me because you felt safe around me. Mom and Dad never minded it and let you do it." She said.

Will snarled for a second before sniffing Selena. When he finished, animalistic groans escaped his mouth until he shrunk to a smaller size. Selena and Will had a way of bringing Will back to his normal self when this happened and it was talking about happy memories. No matter what it was, it helped every time. Will's mindset also returned to normal as he stood on his hind legs, which made him seem human size.

* * *

-Will-

I look at the others. "Sorry about that." I say.

"What...the...hell?" Andy asks.

I sigh. "It happened three years ago. I'll explain later." I say.

"Don't bother, Will!" Stacy says then looks at all of us. "I'm done here." She says and walks off.

I sigh again then see Lily shaking as she holds her textbooks. I notice her knuckles are white.

"Lil..." I start.

"I'm sorry... but I just can't go back there." She says then heads into the school.

"I guess you're bailing too?" I hear Noah accuse someone and see him looking at Lucas.

"Shut up, Noah." I say and he turns a glare at me.

"You don't get to talk to me, big, purple, and scaly." He says coldly.

I frown. "If Dan weren't the priority right now, I'd fry you where you're standing." I warm him.

"...Even if I did believe everything that was just said...I don't have the time." He says then heads back to the school.

"Bury your heads in the sand then!" Noah shouts. "This won't just stop!"

"I told you to shut up, Noah!" I say.

"Besides, if Will and I weren't attacked last night, we'd be in their place too." Selena says.

I turn to Ava. "What say you, Ava?" I ask.

"This is definitely my style." She says. "I'm in."

"Me too." Andy says. "When do we do it?" He asks.

"Tonight." I say.

"My dad's got a strict school night curfew and wow, that is so lame to say out loud." Ava says.

"And I've got early training tomorrow." Andy says.

I get an idea. "Ava, what if we tell your dad you're studying at our house?" I ask.

"That could work! He always liked you two and he'll be thrilled about me making 'normal' friends." She says.

"And Andy, even though basketball is important to you, this could be life or death. You're one of the strongest people here. I'd feel a lot better with you looking out for us." Selena says.

"Well, when you put it like that...I'm in." He says.

I look at Noah.

"I'm in." He says.

"I need to get my stuff. I'll meet you guys in front of the hardware store." Selena says.

"Then what?" Noah asks.

"We save Dan." I say.

With that, Andy, Ava, Noah, and I head to the hardware store in town to wait.

* * *

**That's chapter two. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


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